USDA Debunks Viral Chart Claiming Noncitizens Dominate Food Stamps
The United States Department of Agriculture refuted a viral social media chart that falsely claimed noncitizens are the primary recipients of SNAP benefits.
A viral social media chart titled 'Food Stamps by Ethnicity' spread false claims that non-white noncitizens are the majority of U.S. food stamp recipients. The chart asserted that Afghan, Somali, and Iraqi populations were the largest recipient groups, while white recipients represented only 8.6% of the total.
The United States Department of Agriculture refuted these claims with official data showing that white people are actually the largest racial group receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits at 35.4%. Furthermore, 89.4% of all SNAP recipients are U.S.-born citizens. The misinformation originated from a blog post by The Personal Finance Wizards, which misused American Community Survey data by confusing the percentage of households within specific ancestry groups with the overall share of beneficiaries.
This spread of misinformation occurs as a federal government shutdown, which began on October 1, threatens to cut SNAP funding for millions of low-income Americans starting November 1.
